Understanding
by ancientmaverick
Summary: Evan teaches the new Major a few things about Atlantis. Strictly friendship, spoilers for “Whispers”.


Title: Understanding

Summary: Evan teaches the new Major a few things about Atlantis. Strictly friendship, spoilers for "Whispers".

Author's Note: We don't know much about Major Anne Teldy, so I'm speculating a bit, but I decided I liked her. Is she a Marine or Air Force? Besides, I wondered why Sheppard didn't know he had a team of girls under his command.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be unemployed.

"Anne! I've been looking all over for you!" Major Evan Lorne grinned broadly at the woman before him. "I should have known you'd be wherever the guns are." It had been years since Basic Training, but the two friends had managed to keep in touch whenever possible. For Evan, this had become much harder since coming to Atlantis, but now that Anne had joined the expedition, he looked forward to reliving old times.

Anne stuck her tongue out at him. "I've been here a week already. Get lost in your office, Mr. Second-in-Command?"

The sergeant on duty raised his eyebrow a fraction, obviously expecting a reprimand for the disrespectful tone. The two officers may have been the same rank, but Evan was firmly ensconced as Sheppard's second, and he didn't take crap from anyone.

Anne, however, was a different matter. She would say it was because she could kick his ass any day of the week, but Evan would just smile and say that he had been raised to never hit girls. After the inevitable wrestling match, they would have a good laugh and go out for beers. Theirs was a friendship tested by time and distance, and the fact that they had been able to maintain it was a testament to their sincerity.

Some had accused them of more sinister motives – usually rivals who could find no other fault with the pair. Anne had been accused of rising through the ranks by sleeping with a superior officer (as a man, Evan had inevitably risen through the ranks at a faster pace.) Evan had been accused of taking advantage of a junior officer and abusing his rank to favor her.

The rumors didn't phase them, though. When confronted, they just laughed. It was an absurd notion – they hadn't even been in the same command structure, and everyone knew they were just friends. There was no secret romance, no hidden agenda, just honesty between the two, and that was just fine with Evan. Relationships were difficult enough without the added complication of the military. How O'Neill and Carter had managed was beyond him – but that was another story.

"Cut me a little slack, Anne, I've been off-world."

"Yeah, that's what they all say."

"That makes absolutely no sense." As they shared a laugh, Evan could see the sergeant edging closer to catch more of the conversation. Evan knew they would be the subject of that week's gossip circuit, but not wanting to make it worse, he let his eyes wander to the door. Anne, astute as always, caught the hint and nodded briefly.

"Thanks for the help, Sergeant. Carry on." Anne tossed a salute in his direction, and then threw a wink at Evan, who rolled his eyes. Anne had always found the rumors to be more amusing than Evan, and often tried to fuel them even more.

"You're incorrigible."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way," Anne laughed as she punched him playfully.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Evan headed for the rec room. "Settling in all right?"

"For the most part. This place is like a maze!"

"It does take some getting used to, but it'll feel like home in no time." Evan glanced sideways at her. "I was surprised to see your name on the list of replacement officers."

"Seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Besides, I needed to get away for a while." At Evan's questioning glance, she shrugged. "Had a couple of bad tours. I needed a little perspective."

Evan could only nod. He'd been part of the program for so long now that he sometimes forgot about the very real problems on Earth. When faced with aliens every day, everything else just seemed rather unimportant.

Evan could tell that Anne wouldn't mind a change of topic, so he nudged her a little. "I saw your team roster. Color me surprised, to say the least."

Anne grinned evilly. "I think it's about time someone broke up the boys club around here. Though I was surprised when it was approved."

"I'm not sure Colonel Sheppard realized what he was getting himself into. He knows Vega, and you, of course, but the other two are new. He probably won't figure it out until he has to work with you on something."

"Is he that clueless?"

Evan frowned, and had to stop himself from his reflexive response to her derision of his – their – commanding officer. He knew the IOA's opinion of the man, and had been questioned often enough (discreetly, of course) about Sheppard's fitness for command. Evan was not a man who cared about past misdeeds, and though he had a healthy respect for the rules, he also was not above bending them from time to time. Actions spoke louder than words, and in Evan's book, Sheppard had saved them all enough times that putting someone else in charge would just be foolish. He would defend the military commander with his dying breath. Anne, however, had just arrived, and didn't know Sheppard as well as Evan did. She deserved the benefit of the doubt, but that didn't stop Evan from wanting to set her straight.

He realized that his friend was still waiting on a reply. "It's probably my fault, actually. I told him that you were an old friend, and that you would only pick the best. He's not a big fan of paperwork, so instead of going through their files like normal, he just trusted your judgment."

"Your judgment, you mean."

"I guess."

"He trusts you that much." Anne's tone was one of severe disbelief.

Evan stopped walking so they could face each other. "Hey. Sheppard is one of the good guys. He's saved this city more times than I can count. It's not often a commander will risk his life to go back for one man."

"Some would say that's reckless. I've heard stories-"

"Don't believe everything you hear, Anne."

Anne looked thoughtful. "They still talk about him, you know. I probably heard his name a dozen times during my tour in Afghanistan."

"What do they say?" They began walking again.

"Publicly, his actions are held up as an example of what not to do. Privately, though…they admire him." She smiled slightly. "Almost as much as you seem to."

"Laugh now, Anne, but you'll see," Evan promised.

"Haven't seen much of anything, yet," Anne griped. "Colonel Sheppard promised me a tour, but there was a problem with the 'gate."

"Get used to it. There's a senior officer meeting every Wednesday morning, required unless you're off-world. Chances are pretty good that that's the only time you'll see the Colonel all week." They finally reached the rec room, where Evan directed Anne to one of the tables in the corner.

"What if we have a problem?"

"Unless it's something pretty major, you're stuck with me, or Major Altman. This city is a bitch to run on the best of days, and the Colonel always has to put out fires – sometimes literally." Evan could see that Anne was still a little unconvinced about Sheppard. "You'll understand soon enough why we can't get along without him." The conversation turned to other things, and the two friends quickly caught up on each other's lives.

As the weeks passed, Evan spent as much time with Anne as he could, whenever he wasn't off-world or dealing with administrative duties. Anne was willing to admit that Sheppard was pretty good in a crisis, and he had the respect of those under his command. Personally, though, she hadn't seen what Evan had talked about. Sure, Sheppard was a good commander, but anyone could do what he did. Evan had made it seem like the man was indispensable to the expedition.

She had been there a few months when her team pulled a reconnaissance mission to PX-whatever and found a Wraith lab, got chased by mutant lab rats, and lost one of it's members.

Evan found her in the infirmary a few hours after they had returned. They were being kept overnight for observation because of the weird mist, and, Anne supposed, because of Alicia Vega. She was the first team member they had lost, and though it had hit Alison the hardest, they were all grieving.

Evan didn't say anything when he arrived, just checked in with Sheppard, who was three beds down, and then pulled up a chair next to Anne's bed.

"Hey," he said softly.

One word, conveying so much that she needed to hear. It was an offer of a shoulder to cry on, a punching bag to beat into submission, a rock of support.

First, though, Anne had to put something right between them. "You were right, Evan," she said, glancing to her left. Sheppard was walking around, visiting the other unfortunate guests of the infirmary, providing a joke here, a word of comfort there. "I understand now."

oATLANTISo

_AN: I'm really liking this season so far, but then I said the same thing about season four and then got really pissed off at the last episode. But I think the dynamic they have going now is really good, and I like that they're getting more recurring characters. That was one of the strengths of SG-1, and it's how we got Lorne, after all.__ (Of course, that could all be for nothing, but I'm confident MGM will get their heads out of their asses in short order.) Now, hit that button and review!_


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